(13 tify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness : they walked not in my statutes, and they rejected' my judgements, which if a man do, he shall live 1in them; and my sabbaths they greatly 'profaned then I said I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, 14 to consume them. But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be 'profaned in the sight of the 'nations', in whose sight I brought them out. 15 Moreover also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of 16 all lands; because they rejected' my judgements, and walked not in my statutes, and profaned' my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. 17 °Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make a full end of them in the wil18 derness. And I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgements, nor 19 defile yourselves with their idols: I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgements, and 20 do them and hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am (21 the LORD your God. But the children rebelled against me; they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgements to do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them; they profaned my sabbaths: then I said I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them 22 in the wilderness. Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned' in the sight of the Inations, in whose sight I brought 23 them forth. Moreover! I lifted up mine hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations', and disperse 24 them through the countries; because they had not executed my judgements, but had rejected my statutes, and had 'profaned' my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols. 25) Moreover also I gave them statutes

1 Or, lbyl 2 Or, whereby

3 Or, Iset apart all! See Ex. xiii. 12. 4 Or, looked out for

that were not good, and judgements 26 21wherein they should not live; and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.

27) Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD: In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. (28 °For when I had brought them into the land, which I lifted up mine hand to give unto them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick Itreel, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering, there also they made their sweet savour, and they poured out there their 29 drink offerings. Then I said unto them, What 'meaneth the high place

whereunto ye go? So the name thereof is called "Bamah unto this 30 day. Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD: 'Do ye pollute yourselves' after the manner of your fathers? and 'go' ye la whoring after their abominations? (31 and when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, do ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, unto this day? and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired 32 of by you: and that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all;

in that ye say, We will be as the Inations', as the families of the coun33 tries, to serve wood and stone. As

I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I be king over 34 you and I will bring you out from the 'peoples', and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury 35 poured out: and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples', and there will I plead with you face *36 to face. Like as I pleaded with your

Or, whereunto ye go, and the name whereof...day? That is, High place.

fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, 37 saith the Lord GOD. And I will

cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the 38 covenant; and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me; I will bring them forth out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye (39) shall know that I am the LORD. ÁS

for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD: Go ye, serve every one his idols, 1and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but my holy name shall ye no more 'profane with your gifts, and with your idols. 40) °For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me in the land: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. 41) As a sweet savour will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples', and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you (42 in the sight of the nations'. Ánd ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I lifted up mine hand to give untol

43 your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have polluted yourselves; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have commit44 ted. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your levil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

45 51 And the word of the LORD came 46) unto me, saying, "Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the 47 South; and say to the forest of the South, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall

devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be 48 burnt thereby. And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled 49 it: it shall not be quenched. Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, 'Is he not a speaker of1 parables?

211 And the word of the LORD came 2 unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the 'sanctuaries', and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the 4 wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: 5 and all flesh 'shall know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any 6 more. Sigh therefore, thou son of man; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness 'shalt thou sigh 7) before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt 'say1, Because of the tidings, for it cometh and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.

8 And the word of the LORD came 9 unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD: Say. A sword, a sword, it is sharp(10) ened, and also furbished: it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning shall we then make mirth? the rod of my son, it contemneth 11) every tree. And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: 'the sword, it is sharpened, 'yeaꞌ, it is furbished, to give it into the hand 12 of the slayer. Cry and howl, son of man: for it is upon my people, it is! upon all the princes of Israel:

6

they

8 Or, it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree

"Or, terrors by reason of the sword are upon my people

are delivered over to the sword Iwith my people: smite therefore upon (13) thy thigh. For there is a trial; and 1what if even the rod that contemn

eth shall be no more? saith the Lord (14 GOD. Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the Ideadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one that is deadly wounded, which entereth into their (15 chambers. I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may 'melt', and their Istumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made las lightning', it is 'pointed' 16) for slaughter. 041 Gather thee Itogether', go to the right; 'set thyself. in array, go to the left; "whither*17 soever thy face is set. I will also smite mine hands together, and I will satisfy my fury: I the LORD have 'spoken' it.

18

The word of the LORD came unto 19 me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a 'place, 'mark it out at the head 20 of the way to the city. Thou shalt appoint a way, for the sword to come to 'Rabbah' of the 'children of Ammon', and to Judah in Jerusalem 21 the defenced. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he 'shook the arrows to and fro', he consulted 'the teraphim', 22 he looked in the liver. In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to 'set' battering rams', to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to 'set' battering rams against the gates, to cast (23) 'up mounts', to build 'forts". And it shall be unto them as a 'vain' divination in their sight, which' have sworn oaths unto them: but he 'bringeth' iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.

1 Or, what if the sword contemn even the rod it shall be no more, &c.

2 Or, Icompasseth them about

3 Or, Iconsternation\

4 Heb. Make thyself one.

Or, whither is thy face set?

(24

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the 25 hand. And thou, 'O deadly wounded'

wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, 'in the time of the! 26 iniquity of the end; thus saith the Lord GOD: 10 Remove the 'mitre', and take off the crown: this shall be no more the same: exalt that 'which is low, and abase that which is high. 27 0121 will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

28

And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the 'children of Ammon', and concerning their reproach; 'and' say thou, 'A' sword, 'a' sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, 13to Icause it to devour, that it may be as (29) lightning': whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine 'lies1 unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are 'deadly wounded', whose day is come, 'in the time of the iniquity of the end. (30) Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where thou wast created, in the land of 14thy 'birth', will I judge (31 thee. And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee; I will blow Jupon thee with the fire of my wrath and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to 32 destroy. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it.

221 Moreover the word of the LORD 2 came unto me, saying, And' thou, son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? 15then cause1 her to know all her abominations. 3) And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord GOD: A city that sheddeth

blood in the midst of her", that her time may come, and that' maketh idols against herself to defile 'her' ! 4 °Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed, and 'art defiled in thine idols which-thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the nations', and a mocking to all the countries. 5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, Ithou infamous lone and full of 6) tumult1. Behold, the princes of Israel, every one according to his 2power, have been in thee to shed 7 blood. In thee have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they wronged the fatherless and the 8 widow. Thou hast despised mine

holy things, and hast profaned my 9) sabbaths. Slanderous men have been in thee to shed blood: and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains in the midst of thee they 10 have committed' lewdness. In thee have they discovered their 'fathers' nakedness in thee have they humbled her that was unclean in her sep11 aration'. And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's 12 daughter. In thee have they taken

bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neigh bours by 'oppression', and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD. 13 Behold, therefore, I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst 14 of thee. Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it. 15 And I will scatter thee among the Inations', and disperse thee 'through the countries; and I will consume 16 thy filthiness out of thee. And thou shalt be profaned' in thyself, in the sight of the nations'; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

17 And the word of the LORD came (18) unto me, saying, Son of man, the

1 Heb. defiled of name.

house of Israel is become dross 'unto! me all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver. 19) Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because ye are all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you 20 into the midst of Jerusalem.

As

they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will lay 21 you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be 22 melted in the midst thereof. °As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.

23 And the word of the LORD came 24 unto me, saying, Son of man, say

unto her, Thou art 'a' land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day 25) of indignation. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in the 26 midst thereof. Her priests have 'done violence to my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and the common', neither have they 'caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and 27 I am profaned among them. °Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey; to shed blood, and to destroy souls, 'that they 28 may get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed 'for' them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the 29) LORD hath not spoken. "The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery; yea, they have vexed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. *30 °And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the fence', and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it : but 31 I found none. "Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon

2 Heb. arm.

them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought upon their heads, Isaith the Lord GOD. 231 The word of the LORD came again 2 unto me, saying, Son of man, there

were two women, the daughters of *3 one mother and they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virgin4 ity. And the names of them were Óholah the elder, and 'Oholibah' her sister and they became mine, and they bare sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is "Oho5 lah1, and Jerusalem 21Oholibah'. And

Oholah' played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neigh6 bours, which were clothed with blue, Igovernors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding (7) upon horses. And she 'bestowed her whoredoms upon them, the Ichoicest men of Assyria all lof them: and on whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself. *8) Neither hath she left her whore

doms since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the teats of her virginity and they poured out' their (9 whoredom upon her. "Wherefore I

delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, (10) upon whom she doted. These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and her they slew with the sword: and she became la byword' among women; for they executed judgements upon 11) her. And her sister Oholibah' saw this, 'yet' was she more corrupt in her Idoting than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the 12) whoredoms of her sister. She doted upon the Assyrians, governors' and rulers, her neighbours, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young (13) men. And I saw that she was de(14 filed; they both took one way. And she increased her whoredoms; for

1 That is, Her tent.

? That is, My tent is in her.

3 See Num. v. 19, 20.

Or, Ideputies See Jer. li. 23, &c.

о

she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans 15 pourtrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look Jupon', after the likeness' of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their (16 nativity. And as soon as she saw them she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her 'soul' was 18 alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my 'soul was alienated from her sister. 19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, Iremembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in 20 the land of Egypt. And she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is

as the flesh of asses, and whose issue 21 is like the issue of horses. Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in the bruising of thy teats by the Egyptians for the 'breasts of thy youth.

22

Therefore, O Oholibah', thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring 23) them against thee on every side; the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them, 'princes and 101men of renown', all of them riding upon horses. 24) And they shall come against thee with weapons", chariots, and "wagons, and with an assembly of 'peoples; they shall set themselves against thee with buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will 'commit the judgement unto them, and they shall judge thee according to 25 their judgements. And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy residue shall fall by